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1715 multicolored Hadley chest could fetch $500K at auction

This undated photo provided by Christie's, shows a 300-year-old Massachusetts chest of drawers embellished with a rare polychrome design - some of it created with a compass tool. The chest is coming to auction on Jan. 22, 2016, at Christie's in New York where it could fetch as much as $500,000. The oak chest is one of only four known examples of a "Hadley" polychrome — or multicolored — pieces believed to be decorated by the same artist. (Christie's Images Ltd. 2015 via AP) This undated photo provided by Christie's, shows a 300-year-old Massachusetts chest of drawers embellished with a rare polychrome design - some of it created with a compass tool. The chest is coming to auction on Jan. 22, 2016, at Christie's in New York where it could fetch as much as $500,000. The oak chest is one of only four known examples of a "Hadley" polychrome — or multicolored — pieces believed to be decorated by the same artist. (Christie's Images Ltd. 2015 via AP)

By Associated Press January 12, 2016 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – A 1715 “Hadley” chest of drawers embellished with a rare polychrome design is headed to auction where it could fetch up to $500,000.

The oak chest is one of only four known examples of a “Hadley” polychrome – or multicolored – piece believed to be decorated by the same artist.

Christie’s is offering it on Jan. 22 as part of its Americana Week.

It says the 1715 chest is believed to be the first Hadley polychrome piece by the unknown paint-decorator to come to market.

The other three are in museum collections: the Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware, Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Hadley pieces derive their name from the region where they were made around Hadley, Massachusetts, between the late 17th and early 18th century.